How to Code in a Terminal Window

When you want to develop programs, e.g. in Python, on a server, the easiest connection option usually is via ssh access and the ​command line mode in a ​terminal window.

In case, you are not used to working in a terminal, we have gathered a small set of recommendations and tutorial links. The examples will be using the NLP lab server ​aurora as an example.

• for the primary access, see the information for various OSes directly at ​https://aurora.fi.muni.cz
• for basic navigation one you are logged in, see the ​Ubuntu tutorial for working in terminal.
• for easy repeated access, you should setup a SSH key authorization, see the simple ​aurora SSH keys tutorial.
• choose and learn (at least) one in-terminal text editor. An easy option is the [​https://www.nano-editor.org/dist/v2.2/nano.html nano editor] - just run nano source.py and start editing, save with Ctrl+S, exit with Ctrl+X. An advanced option is the ​vim editor - we suggest e.g. the ​MIT course VIM intro for an initial engagement with vim. When you start vim source.py, you should press i to edit the text and Esc, :wq<Enter> to save changes or :q!<Enter> to discard changes.
• when developing a program, e.g. in Python, we suggest to work in multiple terminal windows. For each window start a separate terminal connection to the server (SSH key authorization comes very handy here), change to the same directory on the server and use for example:
  • one window for source code editing
  • one window for running the code and inspecting the results
  • one window for running a debug (e.g. via python -mpbd source.py)
  • one window for working with auxiliary files, e.g. edit testing data

• if you are curious enough to get to a terminal pro level, we suggest to go through the MIT course ​The Missing Semester of Your CS Education.